Smarter Organisations

360 Degree Framework

A framework can be thought of as a structure for attaching objects. It becomes the connector to associate objects that may at first glance seem unconnected. Objects can range on the spectrum from abstract to concrete.  An Architects concept drawing, for example, may not immediately appear connected to a building’s foundation stone – a linear view. The foundation stone is connected to the concept drawing if we take into account the framework required support the creation of a habitable space – a multidimensional view. Adding in factors such as the impact of the users of the habitable space and the maintenance required for the space to reach its expected useful life gives us a more 360 degree view. Complex organisations show the traits noted above – direction, product, safety, users, suppliers, a beginning and an end. Each of these traits has a behaviour and response. It is fair to posit then that complex organisations are viewable and measurable using a 360 degree framework.

A 360 degree framework for complex organisations could be created by utilising the Smart Challenges and Smart Operating behavioural responses noted previously – providing a contextual view of organisational interdependence and independent identity. A matrix may then be applied to create a multidimensional view by intersecting Smart Challenges and Smart Operating. It also stands to reason that mapping the behaviours and responses of the traits noted above into the model would complete a 360 degree framework that succinctly articulates an organisation in a way that is comparable to other organisations.

Now that we’ve defined a 360 degree framework to assess and compare organisations let’s look at the top 25 behaviours of smart organisations in the next post…

Smarter Organisations

Smart Challenges

When we think about challenges our thoughts tend toward pending adversity. It’s a natural response and turns our thinking inwards. Being Smart about these challenges assists in switching us to an outward, more engaging thought process. This opens up the possibility to actively participate in how we manage our interconnectivity with other complex organisations.

Turning thinking outward switches our default position from protection to opportunity. The enduring opportunities for organisations lie in how well these common challenges are addressed. Five key challenges come to the surface if we distil this commonality: Goals, Returns, Innovation, Sustainability and Talent.

Let’s review Smart Challenges in the Ultimate Organisation. There would be no necessity to set Goals, expectation of a Return, need for Innovation, requirement for Sustainability, or Talent to nurture as there would be only one organisation. We’ve discounted this scenario as improbable and have chosen to focus instead on complex organisations.

So, complex organisations interacting with each other display behaviours promoting interdependency. Applying the Smart Challenges to these behaviours brings us closer to being able to measure and compare.  We need to be able to identify and categorise organisational activity on Goals, Returns, Innovation, Sustainability and Talent that gives us a scale to compare against other complex organisations.

Being Smart about challenges introduces mechanisms to measure the interconnected behavioural response.  As we measure complex organisations we build a platform for comparison and improvement.

Smart Operating

How we operate defines us. It shapes the external view of our identity, manifesting as perceived resilience and independence. We subconsciously operate in particular ways to protect our independence and identity whilst responding to our environment. Being smart about operating brings our instinct for survival to a more conscious level. It creates an opportunity to leverage and nourish our environment to build a resilient, independent complex organisation.

Independent organisations come to the fore by consciously leveraging and nourishing the environment. Resilience can be measured by how consciously common operating activities are embraced. Five key operating practices present themselves if we distil this commonality: Focus, Momentum, Competency, Relationships and Results.

Let’s now look again at the Ultimate Organisation, this time using the lens of Smart Operating. There would be a singular Focus, constant Momentum, full Competency, perfect Relationships and consistently excellent Results. Based on the earlier discussions we’ll discount this scenario as improbable and focus instead on Smart Operating in complex organisations which are fallible by their very nature.

As in the exploration above, applying Smart Operating to behaviours promoting independent identity brings us closer to being able to measure and compare. We need to be able to identify and categorise organisational activity on Focus, Momentum, Competency, Relationships and Results that gives us a scale to compare against other complex organisations.

In the next blog we’ll explore how Smart Challenges and Smart Operating contribute to a 360 degree framework for comparing complex organisations.